Yonhap quoted a diplomatic source in Seoul as saying a large mushroom cloud was spotted in Yanggang province.

South Korea’s Unification Minister has reportedly played down the possibility that it was a nuclear weapons test.

Diplomatic officials in Washington are also quoted as saying the nature of the blast is unclear.” More …[BBC]

Reports indicate that a large crater was spotted from U.S. satellite surveillance as well as local reports of a large “mushroom” cloud several miles away. This event, if confirmed as a nuclear explosion, should spark major international concern in the weeks going into the U.S. election. Do we feel the need for a strong ICBM defense now ?